It's broken, and was picked up by a femme fatale

Although Lu Yuan handed over the command to Mao Wenlong, Mao Wenlong was not stupid.

He was able to transform himself from a pirate who was eliminated by the imperial court into a Shenling Qianzong.
He was able to beat the Jurchens so hard that they were fuming. His survival wisdom was not simple.

The art of leadership speech must be experienced with heart.

You have to find the right timing to know when to make decisions on your own and when to ask Lu Yuan for instructions.

For example, it is not necessary for the fleet to sail normally.

However, now the Japanese navy launched an attack and rocks flew everywhere.

Although it was a little distance away, it looked very dangerous.

However, in order to ensure the safety of the leader, asking for instructions in a timely manner can demonstrate the subordinates' concern and loyalty.

Lu Yuan glanced at the fleet.

It was discovered that the soldiers of the Pi Island navy were well-organized and each was doing their own thing.

However, his subordinates looked up at the sky nervously, and many of them had worried expressions on their faces.

So, you can tell at a glance whether he is an old sailor or not.

Actual combat training is not just empty talk.

Lu Yuan shook his head and said to Mao Wenlong, "Just watch and fight. It doesn't matter if there are some casualties."

Mao Wenlong watched every move of his leader and roughly understood his intentions.

"Yes!"

He sent out flag signals, ordering the fleet to continue speeding up.

At the same time, all artillery guns were removed from their gun covers, loaded with gunpowder and shells, and ready to fire at any time.

The Northern fleet did not fight back and was only concerned with escaping.

When Captain Dongyang saw this, he became extremely confident.

"Haha, I deserve to be rich today! My fellows, row your oars quickly,
Overtake them, don’t let any of them escape!”

Merchant ships have large cabins and decks and good stability, but they are not fast.

Warships are slender, have a speed one and a half times that of merchant ships, and are extremely maneuverable.

So, the five merchant ships will definitely be caught up.

They chased and fought like this for about quarter of an hour, and the two sides were about three thousand steps apart.

Most of the Northern Navy soldiers gradually became familiar with the attacks of the Eastern Navy and were no longer afraid.

Mao Wenlong also felt that after playing cat and mouse for so long, it was time to show off one of their skills to boost morale.

"Everyone slow down and keep heading!"

"No. 5 stern gun, 2700 paces, due north, 1 calibration round, fire!"

The merchant ship at the rear of the fleet received the order, and the gunner quickly adjusted the angle and direction and placed the torch close to the fuse.

"呲呲呲!"

A streak of sparks drilled into the fire hole at the rear of the barrel, leaving behind a wisp of rising blue smoke.

Three breaths later, there was a "bang" and a burst of black and white fireworks came out of the muzzle.

The solid iron ball rushed towards the main ship of the Oriental Navy with a whistling sound and at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

The officers and soldiers of the three warships of the Oriental Navy were in high spirits.

Suddenly, they heard a strange sound they had never heard before flying overhead.

Just when I was wondering, there was a "gulp" sound from the sea behind me, and something fell into the sea.

The lookout on the main ship's mast looked around but found nothing.

However, he always felt that he seemed to have heard this sound before, but he couldn't remember it in a hurry.

Hearing hallucinations? Something wrong with your ears?

Because there was no evidence, the lookout did not report the abnormality in time.

But then he discovered that there seemed to be a black object at the stern of the last merchant ship in the other fleet?
He immediately took out his telescope and moved closer.

At the same time, Mao Wenlong also adjusted the artillery parameters.

"No. 1 stern gun, 2500 paces, due north, 1 calibration round, fire!"

"呲呲呲!"

"Boom!"

"Woooooo~~"

The low, sharp sound of breaking wind was getting closer and closer.

The officers and soldiers of the main ship of the Dongjiang Navy once again looked around aimlessly.

But, all I heard was a loud "bang!"

Then, wood chips flew everywhere at the bottom of the ship's tower, and screams and cries echoed throughout the ship.

The lookout finally discovered that there were five cannons installed at the stern of the five merchant ships.

OMG!

That lunatic put the city defense cannon on a merchant ship?

So, the last time,
"Enemy attack!"

When the lookout sounded the alarm, the captain, with blood all over his face,
He crawled out from the ruins of the ship building with a confused look on his face.

"What's going on? Who did it?!"

He screamed and roared.

Suddenly, he felt a piercing pain in his leg and fell face down.

"Ahhhh~ Damn it, it hurts so much!"

While cursing, he propped himself up and checked his injuries.

There was a piece of wood chips two fingers wide stuck in the calf of his left leg.

Damn! What bad luck!

He was not aware of the paralysis caused by the severe pain just now.

Now it felt like being pricked by needles, waves of severe pain excruciating his heart.

The main ship came under unknown attack, with many casualties on the deck and the captain injured.

The officers and soldiers of the Japanese Navy were in chaos, some running away and some hiding.

Lu Yuan and Mao Wenlong both saw through the telescope that the second calibration shell hit the enemy's main ship squarely.

Now, all the shooting parameters have been determined.

While you are sick, I will kill you!
"All ships' stern guns, 2400 paces, due north, three rapid shots!"

"Boom boom boom..."

The five tail guns fired almost simultaneously.

"Woooooooo..."

The whistling sound was like the god of death swinging his scythe, accurately reaping the lives of the officers and soldiers of the Japanese Navy.

After firing the shells, the artillerymen followed the procedures in an orderly manner.

First clean the barrel, then load the gunpowder, finally put in the shell, insert the fuse, and ignite it.

Another round of shelling.

This time, even a secondary ship of the Oriental Fleet was hit, and the chaos further expanded.

After three rounds of shelling, Mao Wenlong made a preliminary estimate and found that the enemy's main ship was hit by four bullets and had basically lost its combat effectiveness.

One of the secondary ships was hit by two shells and the other was hit by one shell.

17 shots, 7 hits.

Brilliant results!

Lu Yuan really didn't expect that the inconspicuous Mao Wenlong was actually proficient in artillery.

At this time, the lookouts of the Japanese Navy were very sure that the merchant ships were using city defense guns to launch ultra-long-range attacks.

He immediately reported to his subordinates and asked the captain to make the decision.

The captain was now badly wounded, but he still had his sanity.

"Quick! Run!"

Soon, the flag signal gave the order to retreat.

Three first-class warships of the Japanese Navy, which were covered with scars, slowly turned around and avoided to the east.

Lu Yuan's subordinates and the officers and soldiers of the Pi Island Navy all danced and cheered.

"Hahaha, they got scared and ran away!"

"We defeated the Eastern Navy. The North Sea is mighty!"

"The Pidao Navy is invincible! Victory!"

From being beaten and frustrated before to being invincible now, confidence and glory quickly spread in the fleet.

Mao Wenlong laughed loudly and said to Lu Yuan: "The Governor-General is wise and brave, and the Japanese Navy is vulnerable!" Lu Yuan smiled modestly and said: "It seems that General Mao was in charge of this battle, right? I didn't do anything!"

Mao Wenlong said with a smile: "As long as the Governor is in charge, he will be blessed with good fortune. The rough and clumsy work we do is not worth mentioning. Now...shall we pursue?"

Lu Yuan knew very well that even if the merchant ship chased the warship, it would take eight hundred years to catch up.

What's more, Longhu Mountain is in imminent danger. You see, even after winning the battle, Immortal Master Lan is still worried.

"Don't chase after a desperate enemy. Forget it. Let's go across the Yangtze River first and reach Nanjing as soon as possible!"

Mao Wenlong certainly knew that the warships were fast, so he went with the flow and issued an order to move westward.

The fleet accelerated and headed towards the mouth of the Yangtze River.

After sailing across the line where the yellow and blue waters meet, the mouth of the Yangtze River is just around the corner.

Further in, the density of ships increased rapidly, and the number of warships of the Yangtze River Navy also increased.

Compared with the Eastern Navy, the Yangtze River Navy was easier to talk to. They would let you go as long as you paid money, and they didn’t even board the ship to check.

why?
Because there is no one on the sea, robbing merchant ships will be known to everyone, but if you do bad things, no one will know about it so it doesn't matter.

But it’s different on the Yangtze River. There are a lot of people coming and going, and open robbery is tantamount to breaking the rules.

The imperial court also needs to save face, and when public opinion arises it always has to find a scapegoat.

If I'm unlucky, who can I turn to for justice?
Besides, who would torture themselves for no reason? Wouldn’t it be better to have a drink and play with women instead?
what?
Worried about harboring rebels and bandits who could endanger the empire?
Look at what you said, this world of Shen Ling belongs to Emperor Ling Gui, does it have anything to do with me?
If the desperado is really found, will it be you or me who will go?

What's the point of living with just a few taels of silver every month?
What's more, there is the Japanese navy standing in front, so if the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up.

Therefore, the Yangtze River Navy watched happily as Lu Yuan and Mao Wenlong went upstream.

Throughout the entire Yangtze River waterway, only the estuary is strictly inspected, while other places are in name only.

Lu Yuan had a smooth journey and arrived at Jiangyin Fortress.

The entire Jiangyin Fortress has a dangerous terrain and has 24 river defense artillery batteries.

The fort’s firing range can reach the other side of the river, and it is known as the “Key to the Yangtze River”.

The river defense team came on a speedboat and conducted a routine boarding inspection.

However, Mao Wenlong is also an old hand and had made preparations long ago.

He used the goods to cover the ten cannons, and secretly gave the squad leader 20 taels of silver.
Add two more jars of old wine and the river defense team was sent away.

In this way, at dusk, the fleet arrived at Xiaguan Wharf in the north of Jinling City.

Looking at the crowded dock, the officers and soldiers of the Pi Island Navy were amazed and their hands were itching.

There are so many people and goods here, you can make a fortune if you just rob them once!
Mao Wenlong knew the nature of his men, and he also wanted to test Lu Yuan's bottom line.

He deliberately asked, "Your Excellency the Governor, we have arrived in Nanjing. Do you need me to clear the area?"

Lu Yuan smiled faintly and said, "Captain Mao has worked hard and made great contributions. We can't let the brothers from Pidao do all the hard work. Then the North Sea Navy will just be spectators. You guys take a break first."

After that, he waved his hand and said, "Everyone from the Beihai Teaching Brigade, impose martial law and clear the area, execute it!"

Two hundred fully armed soldiers from the teaching brigade marched into the dock in an orderly manner from the gangway.

First control the dock office, then set up roadblocks, add sentries, and disperse the crowd.

A quarter of an hour later, Xiaguan Wharf fell into Lu Yuan's hands.

There are ferries between Xiaguan Wharf and Pukou across the river, with tens of thousands of passengers every day.

The Northern Navy cut off the largest north-south passage on the river, and now the Southern Zhili Governor's Office became anxious.

North Navy?
Where is it?
What are they going to do?
Hundreds of people? Thousands of people? What equipment?
They know nothing.

Therefore, the prefect of Jinling gritted his teeth and sent out 1000 garrison troops to retake Xiaguan overnight.

Feng Jixiang was ordered to wipe out Longhu Mountain. All the elite troops of Nanzhili were sent out, and those who stayed behind were the old, weak, disabled soldiers and disciples of powerful people.

These guys don't even participate in training, so it's nonsense to ask them to fight.

In particular, Yang Biao, the deputy general of Jinling, had been eating, drinking and having fun all day long, and his body had become extremely weak.

But, the less capable a person is, the more likely he is to be promoted.

This guy has never fought a battle, but he has been promoted to the position of the second-in-command of the Jinling Army.

In times of peace, Yang Biao was very knowledgeable and arrogant when talking about military affairs on paper.

So, he patted his chest nonchalantly and issued a military order.

"These remnants of bandits are nothing to worry about! If you fail to take over Xiaguan Wharf by midnight tonight, I will bring my head to you!"

The prefect of Nanjing and even the officials of various departments of the Nanzhili government were overjoyed.

There were compliments one after another, and Yang Biao was also in high spirits and spoke a lot.

It seemed as if, as long as he arrived and showed off his domineering aura, the other party would surrender.

Yang Biao begged and persuaded, and finally bit off a reward of 50,000 taels of silver, before he was satisfied and led his troops to Xiaguan.

In the past, Jinling City had good weather and the people lived in peace and prosperity.

A few ruffians and some notorious bandits were easily captured by the Jinling city defense soldiers.

Therefore, Yang Biao, relying on the BUFF of "officer soldiers", actually marched in a grand formation along the main road.

He rode a tall horse and boasted to the soldiers beside him.

"As the Art of War says, use the normal means to unite and the unusual means to win! Do you know what the word 'odd' means?"

The personal soldiers naturally flattered: "We don't know, General Qing will tell us clearly!"

"It's a brilliant plan, it's to launch a sneak attack, harass, fully mobilize the enemy forces, and then give him a sudden and severe blow!"

"Wow, the general is amazing, he is really knowledgeable!"

There was a special comedian who pretended to be surprised and asked: "Excuse me, General, why don't we send out a surprise attack to kill these damned rebels in one fell swoop?"

Yang Biao laughed loudly: "Good question! Why don't I use a surprise attack to win?
Well, this is a bit tricky. Because I am a strong general, I don't need to do any sneaky tricks.

In a real battle, in the face of absolute strength, all schemes and tricks are nothing but scum!"

"Wow! The general's words are so good, we will definitely win this battle!"

The guards all applauded enthusiastically.

Yang Biao said earnestly: "So! Military books are dead, but people are alive. As the saying goes, water has no constant shape, and soldiers have no constant situation. You guys, don't just study hard, that's something only fools do..."

Wow, everyone was so impressed and moved.

Look, our general is awesome!

So, 1000 people rushed to the outskirts of Xiaguan Wharf.

The Northern Navy immediately deployed scouts outside each city gate of Jinling City.

Every move of Yang Biao's army after leaving the city was clearly marked on the battle map.

This group of government troops were armed blatantly, swaggering around, and acting as arrogant as if they were in an empty land.

Not only did Mao Wenlong shake his head, but Zhalatu and Pu Zhonghua were also amazed, and even the secretary Hua Xiangrong was amused.

"How weird! Even if you're using it as bait... you wouldn't use it like this, right?"

Lu Yuan looked at the battle map and saw that Yang Biao's army was isolated and did not even have the most basic reconnaissance.

"No matter if he is a human or a ghost, capture him first!"

Therefore, the teaching brigade was the main force, and the Liaodong border troops and Gao Mingna's light cavalry cooperated from both wings.

A simple pocket formation was set up, waiting for the Jinling officers and soldiers to run headfirst into the ambush.

Soon, the scout reported: "The Jinling soldiers are two miles away, and the vanguard has entered the ambush circle."

All the generals quickly took their positions. Lu Yuan climbed to the roof of the three-story restaurant, picked up the telescope and looked south.

Wow, these remaining troops are really unscrupulous. A long line of torches looks like a savage fire dragon.

Lu Yuan could even see the white-haired old soldiers under the torches.

Also, those fat officers who couldn't walk and sat on the carts.

Hehe, one leaf can tell the coming of autumn.

Rotten from top to bottom, the Shenling Empire's fortunes were in decline and could not be reversed by human power.

He put down the telescope. The outcome of the battle had already been decided, so there was no need to watch anymore.

"Tell Zhalatu to hit him as hard as he can!

Be quick, accurate and ruthless, and hit them hard!
Remember, this is a battle of crushing, not a battle of annihilation! Let them run if they want to!"

This was actually announced before the war. The Northern Navy went to Nanjing to create chaos and panic.

Let them lose inexplicably, and make more people panic and fear,
If one person spreads the word to ten people, ten people spread the word to a hundred people, it will spread to the whole city in a day or two.
By that time, even if the Nanzhili government wanted to cover it up, it would be impossible.

Just think about it, Nanzhili, the capital of the founding emperor Lingwu, has many nobles in the city.

Even though the capital was moved later, Nanzhili was still established here.

It has government offices of the three provinces and six ministries, which is equivalent to a miniature version of the imperial court.

Those who can serve as officials here are all powerful figures. Which one of them doesn’t have a lot of wealth and many wives and concubines?
Such people are most afraid of death and chaotic times, and will definitely force Feng Jixiang to withdraw his troops and return for support.

Drive the tiger to devour the wolf + besiege Wei to save Zhao.

Kill two birds with one stone, with outstanding results.

Lu Yuan smiled mysteriously: With "God of War" in hand, the world is mine! (End of this chapter)